New Australian men’s cricket coach Andrew McDonald will not hesitate to hand the reins over to assistants during a jam-packed touring schedule.
The former allrounder, who played four Tests in 2009, replaced Justin Langer on an interim basis after the Australian great’s messy departure in February.
McDonald’s appointment on a four-year deal was confirmed by Cricket Australia on Wednesday.
The Victorian became the red-hot favourite to secure the job full-time after Australia’s recent 1-0 Test series win in Pakistan.
He has also received strong public backing from the players, where Australia’s leaders were reluctant to endorse Langer to extend his stay during his last months in the job.
With Australia touring less since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, international commitments are set to ramp up.
Having just completed the historic tour to Pakistan, Australia will head to Sri Lanka in June, before preparing for their Twenty20 World Cup defence on home soil.
Next year’s schedule involves a Test tour of India, an away Ashes series, and an ODI World Cup in India.
Despite talk of the coaching roles being split between red and white-ball cricket, McDonald wanted the job for all three formats.
However, he will consider opting out of some white-ball tours to recharge and give other coaches a go in the top job.
“The great challenge for coaches and players is to manage your workload across the four years,” McDonald said at the MCG on Wednesday.
“I’d like to think I have the coaching staff to step-up, and we can elevate certain coaches at different times to take on different tours and different challenges.
“While doing that it’s only growing the depth of our coaching staff…coaches will get exposed along the journey to help out the workload which is quite significant for a head coach.
“Once it was decided that I was the preferred candidate I got a chance to sit down with Cricket Australia and the people around that to shape the role.
“It (managing the workload) was a huge part of it, no doubt it.”
McDonald joined Australia’s coaching team as Langer’s senior assistant in 2019 after leading Victoria and the Melbourne Renegades to titles in 2018-19.
He has also held senior coaching jobs in the Indian Premier League and in English county cricket.
CA chief executive Nick Hockley praised McDonald after the 40-year-old impressed with his vision for the future during the interview process.
“We interviewed several excellent candidates for this role, which is one of the most important in Australian sport,” Hockley said.
“Andrew has already shown he is an outstanding head coach and the vision he outlined for the role during the appointment process was both impressive and exciting, making him our clear choice.
“We are proud of the way the team played and the respect shown throughout the tour of Pakistan under the leadership of Andrew, Pat (Cummins) and Aaron (Finch) and really pleased Andrew is taking on the role permanently.”
